Katy Pugh

A popular concept in Lisbon is for hamburgers to be served ‘on the plate’ which means that when you order the burger it will arrive, complete with all the relevant garnish, salad and side orders exactly as described on the menu – on the plate with no evidence of the traditional hamburger bread roll. I personally find this rather refreshing as I inevitably end up leaving half the bread behind so I can enjoy the rest of the burger.

Café do Rio specializes in every type of freshly made gourmet hamburger you could think of – my favourite is one that consists of Roquefort cheese and bacon mixed up with the burger mince meat to form a flavorsome patty, and this is then garnished with a smaller patty of the same kind, an enormous salad and yummy potato chips cooked with the skin on them. The burgers are succulent and juicy and the salad is fresh and there is no room on the plate for a burger bun!

The menu has a selection of vegetarian burgers, and fish burgers all of which are freshly made in the restaurant. The meat burgers are split into different categories – traditional, spicy and the house specialties (of which the Roquefort burger is one). Finish off the meal with the special chocolate cake – a slice of chocolate tart filled with gooey chocolate mousse. Perfection!

If you fancy a coffee and slice of chocolate cake in the sun, Linha D`Água should be your destination. The self-service snack bar, consisting mainly of outdoor seating, is situated in a grassy hollow in Jardim da Amália Rodrigues at the top off Parque Eduardo VII, right behind El Corte Ingles department store.

The wooden esplanada is on the edge of a pretty, shallow ornamental pond, complete with funky fountain in the middle of it and is a perfect sun trap. There is the usual array of sweet and savory Portuguese snacks to be sampled (I recommend the chocolate cake) as well as light main dishes (the quiche is pretty good too!). Linha D`Água has a license to sell alcohol, so is also a place to go if you would like to go for some quiet sundown drinks before heading to the cinema at ECI or off down the hill into town.

People flock to this snack bar at the weekend to have late lunches or simply to catch up with friends over a beer and the whole area is a hive of activity with people walking their dogs in the park and sitting enjoying the sunshine.  Summer is on its way and this cafe is becoming busier as people celebrate the end of the cold days!

On a bright, sunny day (of which there are many in Lisbon) I love to retreat to this little cafe to relax next to the water whilst Lisbon traffic continues to rush on around me.

Brunch. On Saturday and Sunday. In Cais do Sodre. 

Cafe Tati, situated on the road directly behind Mercardo Ribeiro, opens at 11:00 at the weekend and, for €10 you can have a delicious, filling brunch, complete with freshly-squeezed orange juice and coffee, tea or hot chocolate, and a choice of fruit salad or cereal and yoghurt to start out with.

The main course is a beautifully arranged plate of local cold salamis, hams, salmon and cheeses which are accompanied by a portion of scrambled eggs and toradas (huge, fat slices of hot toast), jam and butter. Then, just when you think you can’t possibly eat more and are contemplating another shot of coffee, a little slice of carrot cake appears on your plate, just to finish things off.  

The atmosphere is casual and laid back and the cafe tends to start filling up after 12:30 when people have finally woken up to the world of the weekend.

This quirky little cafe is decorated with a random selection of chairs and tables and the crockery is all mismatched and some of it is delightfully old-fashioned.

It is also possible to have lunch or dinner throughout the week in this charming venue, and it is a good place to meet in the evening for a drink before heading on to one of the other bars in the area. 

I love this store! Situated down from Largo do Carmo on Calçado do Carmo towards Rossio, this bright, airy shop with the cool multi-colored logo has got a wonderful selection of Lisbon souvenirs with a difference. The shop stocks mainly t-shirts and what funky t-shirts they are.

Lisboa Carmo’s designs all in some way relate to Lisbon, but what makes these shirts unique is that each of these designs has been created by a different young Portuguese artist or designer. The shop has agreements with most of the designers so the t-shirts are unique to Lisboa Carmo and can’t be purchased elsewhere.

The staff in the store are very welcoming and are happy to explain the intricacies of each design, what they represent and give you a little bit of background into the reason behind the design. Most of the t-shirts have several different colors to choose from for each design.

They also stock coffee mugs with designs similar to the t-shirts as well as an array of fridge magnet and key rings, some of which you will have seen in other tourist shops and some of which are unique to Lisboa Carmo

If you want to buy something a little different in the way of gifts or souvenirs to remind you of your stay in Lisbon, I highly recommend a visit to this store!

Another one of my favourite haunts – Graça, and another notable, typically Portuguese restaurant. Directly across the road from O Piteu is Churrasco da Graça. This restaurant has recently been refurbished and is now painted a cheerful yellow which adds to the lively atmosphere and the noisy chatter of Graça residents as they greet each other and the restaurant staff of a Saturday lunch time.

The dishes are typically Portuguese and the portion sizes are enormous and relatively cheap (a main dish will cost, on average €7). The fish dishes are always good – the fish is fresh and they also have the traditional patiniscas (kind of fish cakes lightly fried in batter) accompanied by tomato rice.

In my opinion, one of the best items on the menu (when feeling hungry) is the picanha steak which is served with black beans, french fries AND rice (very typical Portuguese combination) as well as some slides of orange and pineapple.

The service is good and very quick, the portion sizes are healthy and tasty and the atmosphere is lively – what more could you ask for . This is a good place to sample typical Portugal.